Final Fantasy VII: Memories Not Forgotten
by JustSomeGuy15
Summary: [Deleted, and rewritten. Further details inside. Give it a chance!] [ON HOLD. See profile.]
1. On The Way Home

**Final Fantasy VII**

**Memories Not Forgotten**

Author's Note: After finally sweeping through my brand-new copy of Final Fantasy VII, I've decided to delete the older version of the story, and start out new. A few more things I must point out.

(1)The characters' costumes and such will be the ones from the game, instead of Advent Children, as it was in the older version of this story.

(2)The time place of this story is set DIRECTLY after the game. As in, right after the fight with Sephiroth.

(3)Sticking to my usual manner, I will not least pairings just yet. Mainly because I simply haven't decided. I like to leave the couples out at first as a surprise.

(4)The rating may go from T to M if I find it needed.

(5)In the older version, I pointed out that if the reader(s) didn't like the idea I had for my story, to not read it altogether. This, apparently, was the reason for my lack of reviews. So, here I am, asking what whether you hate how the story turns out as it moves along, or like it, maybe even LOVE it, don't forget to review.

(6) There will be no characters from Advent Children in this fiction. No Kadaj, or anyone. However, I will be throwing in a few of my own characters from time to time. Not Mary Sue's, mind you. More along the lines of my own NPC's. Probably the only Mary Sue I'll actually be using is the new main antagonist, and his lackeys.

)Disclaimer( I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of its names, characters, and so fourth. Square Soft owns all of which.

That should do it. So without further adieu, let's try this once more.

Chapter 1

**On The Way Home**

The large room was dark, absolutely dark. It was wide, meaning there was much space for moving around in, but she dared not to.

There she sat, in the corner of this dark and lonely place, cold steel at her back and legs. She was huddled in the corner, with a blanket curled around her. Suddenly, a faint queasiness came over her.

'Gawd… I wish we could just get there already!' She thought.

Yuffie sat quietly against a control panel on the bridge of the Highwind. After their fateful battle with Sephiroth, much of the group was far too tired to fly anymore. So they 'anchored' the ship just on the border of the Great Glacier, and decided to sleep through the night before continuing their journey back home.

How she hated the fact that they all agreed to go their separate ways once they reached Rocket Town. Yuffie had grown so used to being around all these people, she couldn't possibly leave them behind.

Plus, she wasn't looking too forward to returning to her father back in Wutai.

But it was eventually agreed, and the long trip to Rocket Town would be the last journey they would all take… together. All except, of course, for Aerith.

It had hit the young ninja directly when she witnessed the flower girl clad in pink murdered in cold blood at the hands of a former Shin-Ra general. But she knew who it had hit hardest.

'Cloud.' She agreed in her mind.

Cloud, he could be a real jerk sometimes! Always threatened her with that huge sword of his if she ever stole their materia again. Not that she had thought about it once or twice, but she always thought against it. That sword was really huge!

Then there were the others. Silently the ninja sat up straight from her huddled position, still trying to stay warm, naming off each member of the group.

'Red XIII.' A little odd, being a talking red dog, but still a respected member of the party. Yuffie recalled a point in their trip when she actually had the nerve to throw a stick, and tell him to fetch it. And she would never forget the cold look she received, never again making such a mistake.

'Tifa.' The only remaining female of the party besides herself. Though she always seemed distant, instead wanting to be around Cloud, it was nice to sit and talk with a fellow female now and then. Maybe it was just her, but Yuffie often felt odd being in a group of mainly men.

'Cid.' Another jerk! It seemed no one could say a single thing to that man without him spazzing out and cursing like there was no tomorrow. All in all, though, Cid was a gentle man, and looked out for her, as well the other members as well, despite being somewhat of a potty-mouth.

'Vincent.' Distant, cold, often uncaring. She had mixed emotions for the marksman clad in crimson. Often she actually thought she was in love with him. What could it have been? The fact he was so distant? Still, he might not have been so open about his emotions as she would have liked.

'Cait Sith.' Well, she didn't know much about the odd character that was Cait, but he was still a good guy—er, toy—to be around. Though she knew Cait was only a toy being controlled by a Shin-Ra employee, it was figured none of them would meet the man behind the toy. So they grew to like the toy instead.

'Barret.' Since the two barely spoke with each other, maybe she wouldn't have missed him that much.

A strange figure caught Yuffie's eye, just as she named off the last person. She turned, squinting to look beyond the black veil that surrounded her. "Who's there?"

It appeared to be a large, round white figure, with a smaller shadow on top of it.

"Cait?"

Slowly, she got up from her place, letting the blanket fall off of her. She wore nothing but the green top and the tan bottoms of her outfit. She saw no need to change into sleeping attire. Taking soft steps, she edged toward the odd thing, and as her eyes became used to the dark, the object became more and more clear. It was Cait!

But was 'he' awake? Maybe the person who controlled him was asleep back at headquarters. The toy was stone still, and didn't move in any way.

It wasn't until Yuffie outstretched her hand to gently touch the soft fabric of the giant moogle, that all was silent and still. The moogle tipped forward, the head silently thumping against the floor. The cat body on top was sent flying, smacking Yuffie in the chest region.

With a shriek, Yuffie bounded back to her corner, and dove underneath the blanket, and all was silent once more. That is, until a familiar voice rang out from across the bridge leading to the rest of the ship.

"What the hell is going on? Shut up! Some of us are trying to sleep!"

It was Cid.

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By now the snow was falling harder than it was before. Nothing could be seen for miles except snow. And roughly twenty miles into the horizon, mountains. It was freezing. Not freezing like a euphemism. It was literally below the freezing point.

A flame-haired figure stood out above the others. Decked out in a blue suit, he was huddled upon the ground, dangerously close to a fire. His legs were brought up to his chest, and his arms were crossed in front of them to try and keep himself warm.

"Reno, sir!" Came a voice from behind him.

The Turk looked around to see a soldier, in a plain Shin-Ra soldier red outfit. A pistol was settled at the soldier's belt.

"What?" The redhead replied, clearly annoyed.

"Sir," the soldier began, making a small salute, "Your orders?"

How annoying. The idiot interrupted his thoughts for something like that? "Cloud's little buddies are supposed to be nearby. Apparently they're to fly over this area sometime at dawn. We're to camp out here and intercept them once they pass." He finished, and waved a dismissive hand,

With his orders, the soldier saluted again, and vanished into the swirling snow, possibly to the troop's own fire.

Weapons were all gathered in a small cache dug nearby. Rocket launchers, guns of all sorts, grenades, and extra magazines of ammunition. Since he was deployed as the leader here, Reno called the shots. Or, that's what he would have wished, as he was once again interrupted by a voice.

"Reno." The voice was plain, and rough sounding.

"Rude, there you are." Reno eventually stood up, and turned to meet the bald Turk in shades. "What's the news?"

"The Highwind is just nearby." Rude spoke lowly, not liking to talk so much. "Cloud and the others have anchored down for the night."

Taking this information in, Reno closed a fist against his chin, thinking. "Where do you think they're heading to, now that Sephiroth is gone?"

"….." Rude did not reply, only grunted, as if to say he didn't know.

Then it hit him. They were returning to Rocket Town. He had heard that the old pilot was traveling with them, and was going to return home after the journey.

"Rude, have the troops set up their camps over that way," Reno stopped, only to point a finger in a direction in front of him. "If they are returning to Rocket Town, we'll catch them as they cross that mountain range."

The other Turk simply nodded, and was about to walk off, but felt he had to ask one last thing. "Reno… exactly who is paying us for this?"

"………"

Reno cringed, wishing he hadn't ask that.

"I'll tell you later, Rude." Was all he could say at the moment.

Rude barely heard him over the howling winds, but he trusted his fellow Turk. So, he turned, and walked off to give the orders. Reno in the meanwhile re-crouched next to the fire, trying to warm his frozen limbs while recalling what had happened earlier that day:

_Reno had been walking around the fields between what was left of Midgar, and the nearby Chocobo Farm, for no real reason. Now that most of the Shin-Ra employees were all dead, it seemed the Turks were nothing but mercenaries now. They were all dead. Rufus, Scarlet, Heidegger, and a few others. The rest, like Palmer, Hojo, Tseng, and Reeve were unknown to him where they were. All he knew was that the Turks were on their own._

_In fact, Reno had often thought, as he wandered the fields by himself, what were they going to do for money?_

_Odd that almost right then, a voice had called out to him._

_"Want a job?"_

_Acting purely on instinct, Reno had pulled out the EMR rod, ready to fight off whatever had chosen to attack him. "Who the hell?" Was he hearing things?_

_"I said do you want a job?"_

_There it was again. He couldn't be going crazy. Again he asked against the wind, "Who are you? No, WHERE are you?"_

_Right then, several lines of silver light rose up from the ground, and in an instant, a figure was standing before the armed Turk._

_Dressed in the oddest of ways was a man of about Reno's size. His hair was long, about shoulder length, and neatly cut like silk. And it was a light cyan color. Reno hadn't even bothered worrying about his clothes, he was more drawn towards the bright color of the other man's hair. "What kind of job?" He asked straightforwardly._

_The other man's lips curved at the ends, forming a smirk of sorts. "Nothing major. I just want you and your partners to take out several people for me."_

_It seemed this man wanted to get straight to business. So, he was going to also. "Who's the people, and how much?"_

_"I want you to take down Cloud's ship, the Highwind, with all of his little friends inside it. I'll pay you twenty-five-thousand gil if you do."_

_Reno's jaw dropped. Who did this clown think he was? "Cloud and his entire bunch? In the Highwind? I wouldn't do that for one million, pal. Try again." He shot towards the cyan-haired man._

_The other immediately said back, "Well, how much do you want?"_

_"You probably don't even have how much I want."_

_"Try me."_

_"Two-million?"_

_"Done."_

_"I'll provide you and whoever you take along with you all the necessary equipment you need." He finished._

_After receiving the man's PHS number, Reno turned to leave, but shot the mystery man one last look over his shoulder. "Who the hell are you anyway?"_

_He barely had time to answer, as he vanished the same way he had come. "Just call me Narak."_

_"Weird name." Reno spoke aloud to none one, before turning and heading off to inform Rude and Elena of their jobs._


	2. Crossing the Glacier

**Final Fantasy VII**

**Memories Not Forgotten**

Chapter 2

**Crossing the Glacier**

Several hours later, the sun had begun to peak over the horizon, attempting to burn off the snow clouds, which covered the entire sky. Much of the sky was a ballet of gray and white, and the combined rays of the sun sent colors of orange and pink to mix the plain colors. Despite the fact that the sun was slowly rising more and more, casting more light upon the hovering Highwind, it was still cold inside. Apparently Cid hadn't got around to installing a heater in the thing yet.

As always, Cloud was the first one to wake up. No one was quite sure why, but the second person to awake always found Cloud lounging about somewhere. Currently, Cloud was standing on the bridge, in front of the large glass windows, which overlooked the front of the ship. Occasionally, he would adjust his feet, making soft clanking noises with his boots.

It was not often that the 'ex-SOLDIER' could spend much time by himself. Always he was around someone, even when he had tried to be alone. So he chose to use this time wisely, and review the events which had happened thus far. His head tilted back, staring into the distant sunrise.

"Aerith… I'm sorry." He said aloud, barely above a whisper. "I couldn't save you. So you can't be here to admire the land you helped save."

Indeed, Cloud blamed himself for the flower girl's death. He recalled the event over and over in his mind, each time becoming more and more upset. He was standing right there, not three feet from the knelt Aerith, as Sephiroth appeared, and murdered her. And he could do nothing to prevent it!

Why?

In a sense, he had avenged their deceased friend, by defeating the Great General, and destroying Meteor. The Planet was safe for a time. But there was still a crisis at hand.

How would the people use energy to survive?

Since the days of President Shin-Ra, the people of Midgar relied on Mako energy as their power source. Now that much of the city was in ruins, what could be done? There was no more Mako energy to power anything, such as lights and other basic things people need. He eventually made up his mind to talk to the others about this problem. Until then, all he could do was wait. Wait for the party, as well the crewmen to awaken.

So what would he do until then?

It turns out Cloud wasn't alone. The soft thumping of footsteps caught his attention, and he looked over his shoulder to see the giant moogle bouncing toward him.

"Mornin', Cloud." The cat atop spoke.

The blonde nodded toward him, "Morning, Cait."

The mog positioned itself next to Cloud, and stared out at the fluffy powder which covered the entire area.

"So where are we?"

"The Great Glacier. Not too far from the Icicle Inn."

Cait thought to quickly change the subject, like he always did. "Cloud, do you really mean for us all to go our separate ways after we arrive in Rocket Town?"

The other sighed, "Sephiroth and Meteor are gone, Cait. There is no more worldwide crisis anymore. What reason is there for everyone to be together?"

The toy body couldn't help but agree. "That's true…"

Cloud went on, "Its not like I want everyone to split off, but I know that each of them has their own lives to return to."

At that last bit, Cid came to mind. He always dreamt of going to outer space, and only experienced that once. Now that there was no more Meteor, Cid would likely begin work on a brand new rocket. Maybe something smaller, however. Less complex, even.

Once again, Cait switched topics, though to something more serious. "Do you all really forgive me for bein' a spy for Shin-Ra? I know the company's been destroyed an' all, but…"

"It's fine, Cait." Was all he replied with, before returning his blue-green hues back to the sunrise.

Again the cat nodded, then suddenly jumped. "Gotta shut down for a bit. Need to have some breakfast. Be back soon!"

Before Cloud could respond, there was a faint clicking noise, and the mog lightly slumped forward. Shaking his head, Cloud moved the toy off to one side.

Never once did Cloud notice the pair of eyes, which had been watching him the entire time, from beneath a blanket in the corner.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

"So what's the plain, Reno?"

It was bad enough he had half the damn troops come up and ask that, now Elena had to go off and ask.

"Go ask one of the troops, and leave me alone." Reno said in a dismissive manner.

Scowling, Elena drew back a fist, and bashed him across the top of the skull. "Stuck up asshole…"

Now clutching his head, Reno turned to snap at her, but found that she was already gone.

Now that the sun had come up, the snow cleared up, though it didn't help the temperature. Several fires were set loosely around the camp, as were many tents. Many of the soldiers had been woken up, and the ones who weren't trying to keep warm, were cleaning the hand-me-down guns they were given.

"Boss, are we honestly going to use these old weapons?" A soldier had asked Rude.

Rude merely shrugged, "… it would seem so."

"I can't believe whoever it was that hired us would give us such crappy equipment!" Elena complained.

"Why are you bitching?" Reno turned back to Elena, "You're the one wearing the huge fur coat."

It was true. Apparently Elena had learned they were coming to a decollate place, and brought the largest fur coat she could find. It was pleasantly warm.

"Well, I'm a lady!" Elena shot back, pointing a frozen index finger at the redhead. "I shouldn't even be here! It's freezing!"

"….." Rude again said nothing, only adjusted his shades.

"If you wanted to be paid, you would have come either way." Reno retorted, bringing a bone-chilling iron flask up to his lips, to pour a hot liquid down his throat. His body warmed up for several seconds, before the cold came back over him.

Elena was about to shout back, when a gunshot stopped her. The three Turks turned to see a small group of red-armored soldiers practicing shooting their rifles with mounds of snow.

Reno shot up, and shouted as loud as his frozen lungs would allow. "Don't waste your damn bullets, fools! We need all the ammo we can get!"

"Exactly WHAT are we supposed to do, Reno? You still haven't told me!" Again, Elena's voice made Reno's mind buzz. But he attempted to calm down and explain it flatly.

"That Highwind ship is supposed to come through here any time now, carrying Cloud and all his little buddies. When they do come by, we're supposed to shoot the ship down. But I don't see how our employer thinks we're to do that, with these weak single-shot rifles."

"And the pay?"

"Two-million gil, if we bring the ship down."

Elena's heart stopped at the amount. Never had she even been offered for a job for that amount. Hell, she never even DREAMED it.

"… You still haven't told us who our employer is, Reno." It was Rude.

Thinking there was no point in dodging it any longer, Reno decided to come out with it. It's not like he knew much about the guy anyway. "Some weirdo who called himself 'Narak'. It looked like he can telaport, or something. He had really long cyan hair. He offered each of us two million gil apiece. He said he did have that much, but I don't see how he could."

Next to speak was Elena, "Do you think he works for Shin-Ra?"

"I doubt it. If he did, we would have known about him." Rude answered lowly.

Reno nodded, "True. Plus, it seems like most of Shin-Ra's workers and employees are dead. Including the President."

Before another word could be spoken, every soldier in the encampment was lined up in three individual formations, some not even holding weapons yet.

"Sir! Something on the horizon approaches!"

All eyes turned to the northeastern mountain range, where there was indeed an aircraft, lazily floating towards their general area. Immediately, the Turks called for the soldiers to get their weapons ready.

"It's the Highwind! Move your asses! And get in formation! Move!"

Soldiers were running every which way, retrieving rocket launchers, pistols, rifles, and grenades from the weapon cache. Reno himself got his hands on a rather large grenade launcher.

"Two million gil's in the sack, you guys. Let's not mess this up."

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By now, everyone was woken up, and had gathered on the bridge. After a small breakfast (excluding Cait, of course,) they were slowly heading towards Rocket Town. The crew had taken their individual positions, wherever they needed to be, and were moving the ship as slow as possible, as ordered by Cid.

Even Yuffie was sitting in the corner, now quite used to flying around in the Highwind; she was no longer easily airsick.

"Cid," Cloud looked away from the glass, to look back at the dragoon. "How far away are we from Rocket Town?"

Once distracted by watching the main pilot, Cid turned to face the blonde, but didn't answer right away. He pressed a gloved palm to his temple, and thought for a moment. "Eh… I'd say about four hours away at this current speed."

Red padded up a small railing off to the side, and took a seat next to Cid. "If you're in such a hurry to get away from us, Cloud, why don't you ask Cid to speed up?" It wasn't hard to spot the playfulness in his voice, and there were mixed giggling and chuckles throughout the bridge.

When all fell silent once again, Barret slowly leaned against the railing in front of the large glass. "So this is it, eh? The last time we're all goin' to be together.."

Before the sad mood could sink in, Cloud looked towards the former AVALANCE leader, "Save it for when we get there, Barret. If you cry now, you may break my young heart."

Another fit if laughter filled the closed bridge as Barret made a face. Even Vincent hid a smile behind his raised collar.

"So be it then!" Cid threw a hand into the air while he spoke, "Pilots, take your time! Let's all enjoy these last few hours together!"

"That's the spirit, Cid!" Tifa called from the side, clasping her hands together.

"Hey, sounds exciting!" Cait Sith bounced about in circles a few times.

"Just don't go too fast," Yuffie muttered from the corner, but nonetheless kept a perky, upbeat tone.

"Awright!" Barret bellowed out, punching his gun arm forward.

Even the pilots were somewhat celebrating, though concentrated on their tasks. Though they played a very small role, they still had gotten to know the entire party, and would hate to see them all, or the fact they may never see them again.

But if they were never going to see any of them again, they were all going to enjoy the last hours of them all being together.

As a family.

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"Ready your weapons!"

Reno stood upon a small rock formation, with Rude and Elena flanking him. Each of them had grenade-launching devices, and the single-shot rifles for when they ran out of grenades.

Just below, the three formations of troops all raised their weapons into the air. The multiple clicking of guns filled the cold air, as the troops loaded the magazines into the weapons.

"Two million, Reno?" Elena said, silently.

"Two million." Reno confirmed, and pointed the tip of the weapon into the air.

The ship was sauntering by in the air, not one hundred yards away from where they were set up. And it was moving so slow.

"Fire!"

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Let me know what you think!


	3. Ambushed!

**Final Fantasy VII**

**Memories Not Forgotten**

Author's Note: After this chapter is when I may stop switching between areas so much mid-chapter, and instead focus mainly on Cloud and his group.

Chapter 3

**Ambushed!**

Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Yuffie was in the corner, attempting to fight off what little airsickness she still had, while trying to hold a conversation with Vincent.

Tifa was sitting upon a railing off to the side, discussing with Red what her plans were once they reached Rocket Town.

Cid was talking with the main air pilot about one thing or another, but it didn't last long, as the pilot often lost control of the Highwind.

Cait Sith was speaking with Barret about what he planned on doing with Midgar now that Shin-Ra was no more, but Barret didn't seem the least interested.

And Cloud had stayed on his own, like always. He never moved away from the large glass, watching the fields of snow lazily roll by.

The bridge was filled with mixed talking and occasional laughter coming from separate parties. Normally, it was so quiet, eerie. Perhaps because during their quest, there was rarely a happy moment. Always the situation seemed to be getting worse and worse.. So how could anyone be happy during such a time?

Eventually, Red wandered off to sit elsewhere, leaving Tifa sitting upon the railing by herself. Spotting Cloud alone, she hopped off, and headed toward him.

"What's wrong, Cloud?" She had asked him, arms crossing behind her.

"Nothing," he answered, "just thinking, is all." His voice was plain.

'Just like him to always seem distant." Her mind told her. "What about?" She had to keep the conversation going somehow.

"What I'll do once we land." Again, he responded plainly.

He was planning on leaving her? Again? But why? For what reasons? These questions swam on Tifa's mind, but then it donned on her.

_Aerith._

Perhaps he was planning on living alone, to grieve their dead friend. But she had lost him on many occasions. She wouldn't lose him again!

Tifa shook her head, "Well, I guess we'll just have to think about it once we land, right?"

He had turned around to look directly into her eyes. He was so close to her, she could feel his breath upon her skin, "Right."

"Cloud…" She was about to place a hand to his shoulder, but all the happiness in the ship seemed to fly out the window.

The ceilings of the Highwind gave off many bright red flashes, illuminating the bridge in a red tint. Sirens sounded off loudly, drowning out all other sound. Immediately, everyone stopped whatever they were doing, and gathered around on the main part of the ship.

"What the hell is that?" Cid shouted to one of the pilots.

"We're under attack, sir!" A panicked worker said from his panel.

"Attack? By who?" Came Tifa's voice.

The same worker punched several buttons, and his screen flashed. "Shin-Ra troops!"

"Shin-Ra? Shit!" Cid pounded his skull a few times, trying to decide what to do.

All eyes turned on the giant moogle on the edge of the group.

"Dun' look at me!" The cat retorted, shaking its head, "It's got nuthin' to do wit' me. I swear!"

"Then who?" Barret asked. He was ready to tear the damn toy apart.

"How should I know?" Cait replied.

Cloud suddenly jerked around, "Enough!" He then turned to the two sub-pilots. "What are we getting hit with?"

As if to answer his question, the next sounds to drown out their speaking were endless clanging noises all around.

"Bullets," Vincent stated in a low voice. "They're shooting at us."

Next to come was an explosion, apparently coming from the back of the ship.

"… And grenades." The marksmen finished.

"God damn it! Those bastards are messin' up my ship!" Cid pounded his fist against a railing.

By this time, Yuffie had begun to panic. "What are we going to do? We're gonna die!"

"No one's going to die, Yuffie…" Tifa tried to reassure her, by patting her upon the back.

"Pilot," Now Cloud looked towards the one behind the wheel. "Land, right now."

Red appeared once again within the small circle, "What are you thinking, Cloud?"

"We're landing, and fighting them off."

"What?"

"That's suicide!"

"What are you thinking, moron!"

Different replies came from separate members, but Cloud would not be refused. "We can't fight them from the air, and they'll destroy the ship if we try to get away. So unless you'd all rather walk back to Rocket Town, let's go!"

There was such confidence in his voice, even Vincent had gotten the chills.

"Awright, Cloud! Let's show these bastards whose boss!" Barret said.

After the others threw in their own support, Cid threw a palm out, pointing to where the smoke from the grenades were coming from. "Full speed ahead!"

As the entire ship jolted, and kicked up into a faster speed, everyone dashed out the small door in a single line. Crossing the small red mesh, they all ran up towards the stairs leading to the outside of the ship.

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"Looks like only one rocket hit." Elena said, dropping her launcher.

"No shit," Reno retorted.

"Reno, sir! They've landed just nearby!"

The three Turks watched as the ship had landed just a few meters away from where they were, and eight figures leapt off the ship and began towards them.

"Hold your fire!" Reno threw his own launcher into the air, ejecting the electric rod from his jacket.

The Turks moved out within the middle of the troops, who all had their weapons pointed outward, towards the oncoming party.

Cloud, with the Buster Sword held behind his back.

Tifa, her gloves lined with solid steel across the knuckle and toes of her boots.

Barret, the gun augment outstretched his other hand clutching a handle upon it.

Yuffie, her four-point shuriken clutching across her left shoulder.

Cid, a spear clutched in both hands, pointed out towards the foe.

Cait Sith, the mog was bouncing about a bit, the cat clutching a teal microphone.

Red XIII, was crouched low like a cat, his headpiece giving a faint red glow.

And Vincent, hadn't even withdrawn the somewhat large pistol from his side.

"So, you've come!" A soldier said.

Cloud readied his weapon, "Of course!"

Barret raised the gun arm, "You bastards'll regret this!"

"I highly doubt it," A more calm voice came from the center of the troops.

The front lines moved apart, and three figures emerged from them. A tall, balding man with leathered gloves upon his hands. A shorter flame-haired man with a rod slung across his shoulder, and a blonde female, who didn't seem to have any weapon in particular.

"The Turks!" Tifa called.

"I should have known it was you!" Cloud huffed.

"You idiots never give up, d'ya?" Cid had said.

"Shut up, old man." Reno huffed back.

Cid was ready to lunge out and impale the bastard on the spot, but Vincent stopped him.

"I'd say we're really lucky!" Came Elena's voice, "We got every member of Cloud's little party."

"You won't get away," Rude spoke, closing two fists in front of his face.

Before all hell could break loose, a small energy sphere formed upon the snow between the two factions. A sphere which took the shape of a man. The energy cleared, and the first thing that was noticed was the long turquoise hair.

"It's you!" Reno seemed to know the man.

Narak turned, smiling plainly. "Nicely done, Reno."

"H, hey! Who's that guy?" Cait had asked. He received no answer.

"My real name isn't important. You can call me Narak."

"Enough talk. Time to die, Cloud!" Elena was eager for a fight.

"No," Narak stopped the entire company before the attack could commence.

"… Why not?" Rude lowered his stance, and turned to look at the blue-haired one.

"You 'captured' Cloud, yes. But you also outnumber them in an unfair way." Narak spoke, turning around to face the Turks.

Elena raised a brow. "And how is that?"

Narak shook his head, "Look around. You have many soldiers, armed with guns," He stopped, and turned to Cloud's party. "As you can see, only two of them have guns as well."

"So?" It was Reno.

"So you would kill them at the end of a gun? While outnumbered? I won't stand for that. Cloud and his friends are heroes. They deserve a more honorable death."

"So what do you plan on us doing?" Reno again said.

"You three will come with me. We'll leave the troops to fight Cloud."

Suddenly, Elena snapped. "But you just said you didn't want them to die by a gun! Make up your damn mind!"

Again, Narak shook his head. "With you three here, the fight would end much quicker. Because you three are such fine fighters. With you out of the picture, it will be more of a fair fight."

"……." Rude grunted lightly. He didn't like the idea of having to sit camped out in blistering cold only to retreat at the last moment.

Silently, the Turks all agreed. So Narak stepped over to stand next to them. The same warping spell, which brought him to the place, also took him and the Turks away.

"Who was that weird guy?" Tifa asked.

"We'll figure that out later," Cloud answered. "Now we must fight!"

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Next chapter, I may skip the battle with the troops. Since they're nothing but peons, and all they have are guns, the story descriptions would get repetitive. So instead I'll just SAY that Cloud and the others won, since they would anyway.

Don't forget to review!


	4. The End of one Journey

**Final Fantasy VII**

**Memories Not Forgotten**

Author's Note: As mentioned last chapter, I'll be skipping the battle with the Shin-Ra soldiers. The chapter will begin directly after the fight, then switch to the Turks and my antagonist.

Chapter 4  


**The End of One Journey**

The massive blade swept through the air, twisting at the last possible second, so that the dull end could smack against the last soldier's cranium.

"That's the last of 'em," Cloud declared, slinging the Buster Sword against his right shoulder.

The battle was embarrassingly easy. After fighting far worse things, Shin-Ra troops were nothing to them. Injuries amongst them were little to none. The worst being a single gunshot wound in one of Red's hind legs, which was being treated by Tifa with several green colored vials.

"I thought Shin-Ra was finished?" Cid asked, as he stabbed the spear into the snow.

"They are, technically," Cait answered, "That doesn't mean its army is, though."

"Shin-Ra has an army?" This came from Cloud.

"Shin-Ra **had** an army." Cait corrected.

There was a brief silence, as well an eerie stillness. The only movements were the slowly falling snow, and Tifa's fingers, working a bandage wrap around Red's leg. It was here that Tifa began to think to herself.

Who was that odd blue-haired man? He didn't seem very hostile to her own party, but from what he had said, he wanted them dead. So he was going to use the Turks to capture them? The plan might not have worked, as they beat the Turks once before, during an attack into Shin-Ra tower to stop Hojo. But who's to say their strength, combined with all the troops would have been enough to overcome them? Who knew such things…

Vincent's voice interrupted her silent thoughts, "That man seemed rather odd. I could feel a great power coming from him." This caught everyone's attention, because all eyes looked up to stare at the cloaked one.

"What kind of power? Like materia?" Yuffie had asked, seeming excited. If it was so, then she could steal the materia from him. However, her hopes were shattered as Vincent answered her,

"No, something much greater than materia. More like inner power."

Red had waited until his leg was wrapped, then turned his head up to the others, "I felt it too. It was almost as strong as… as…" He hesitated several times, and eventually, someone had to say it for him.

"…Sephiroth?" It was Barret.

At the name, another silence fell upon the group, and only the wind whisking past their ears could be heard.

Cloud has his doubts, and he shook his head several times, "Impossible. No one has the same inner strength as Sephiroth. It's impossible."

"But didn' we just beat 'em?" Again, Barret asked. And again, Cloud shook his head.

"I don't mean physical strength, Barret. I mean inner."

Barret made another face, "I have no clue what you mean!"

Just as the blonde was about to go into a winding explanation, Tifa stepped in. She didn't think this was neither the time, nor place for such speak, "Shouldn't we be going? It's getting colder."

She was right. Even though it was nowhere near noontime, or even halfway, it was becoming more and more frigid. As if the earlier it got, the colder it got. Like it wasn't cold enough at night. But silently, everyone agreed, and began a trudge back toward the Highwind.

Many sets of footprints were left behind as they all made their way towards the ship. Even Vincent stayed close to the group, which was odd for his part, as he tended to walk further behind. Perhaps even he was succumbing to the cold. Or maybe he wanted to get back to Rocket Town, so he could detach himself from the others. No one would be surprised if such was the case.

No one.

"Hey, Cloud. Can I ask you something?" Tifa asked behind his back, deciding to ask them while not facing him.

Speaking over his shoulder, Cloud nodded, "What is it?"

Even as they continued walking, she still spoke. She was hoping not to draw so much attention that she caused the entire group to halt, "Why do you only use Buster? I mean, we have so many weapons in the ship, which have many more materia slots. So… why do you use a weapon with only two?"

Part of her worst fear came true; he stopped. But everyone else walked right past them, without giving them so much as a glance from the corners of their eyes. Though Yuffie did usher for the both of them to, 'hurry up, and quit being slowpokes'.

Cloud turned completely, and looked down at her. He didn't seem confused, angered, or anything. He had pulled the weapon from off his back, to show her two red crystals in the slots, near the hilt. "I've decided to rely on my own strength from now on, Tifa. I don't need loads of magic weighing me down. I carry only these two in case of an extreme emergency. I'm confident in my own abilities. Can you see?" He held the weapon closer to her, so she could better see what materia he had.

Squinting the wine colored optics, she leaned in as close as she possibly could. What she saw came to no surprise to her: Bahamut ZERO, and the Knights of the Round. True that they would not put a strain on his physical abilities, she still wondered why he chose these two. Maybe because they were the most powerful summon creatures on their side of the world.

When she nodded, he placed the weapon back in the strap upon his back. But never once did their eyes move apart from each other. Eventually, she broke the odd silence, by lightly stretching into the air, "Well, I also have confidence in you, Cloud! Who needs magic, anyway?"

All she got was a smile, but there was something strange about it. It was, in a sense, not like him at all. True that he smiled before in the past, though not quite like this. For one reason or another, a light pink tint came across her cheeks, "Cloud, I…" Perhaps it was the cold.

"Hey you two! Hurry it up! Cid says he'll leave you guys out here if you don't!" It sounded like Cait's voice.

Cloud immediately turned, and started towards the ship, "Let's go."

Silently cursing both Cait and Cid for ruining a perfect moment, Tifa nodded, and darted after him as fast as her attire would allow, "I'm coming!"

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"Damn it, Narak! What the hell were you thinking!"

The four of them had warped into a new area. It appeared to be a small cliff area, overlooking Rocket Town. It was much warmer than where they previously were. And since none of the Turks were used to teleporting, each felt slightly queasy. Not enough to forget their frustration however.

Whisking a gloved hand through the silky blue locks, Narak turned from standing out on the narrow end of the cliffs, to face three sour faces. "Whatever do you mean, Reno?"

Reno was so ticked, that his cheeks nearly matched the color of his hair. "You had us camped in freezing cold weather, with the intention of us capturing and killing Cloud, and at the last moment you show up and make us leave?"

"What was the damn point in all of it!" Elena piped in. She seemed to be the most angered of the three, though her facial expressions didn't show it. If that didn't, her fists certainly did.

"You are mistaken," Narak replied, once again turning to look out over the area. "When I said for Reno to take along reinforcements, I didn't mean to take half an army!" His voice was so calm. But the tone was one hundred percent frustration. Again he turned, now giving a glare towards the other three, "Perhaps five or six troops, as well you three and I may have not bothered."

Reno jumped in again, ignoring his anger and getting straight to business once again, "You'd best say you're still going to pay us." The answer he received was not the one he wanted, or expected.

"You don't understand, Reno. I said for you to capture Cloud, and his friends, and then kill them. Since you failed to do either task, I see no reason to pay any of you a single gil."

And right then, if Reno's blood pressure wasn't already high, it might have risen so much, blood might have shot from his ears.

"How the hell could we have captured them when you showed up and hauled us away! Do you want them dead or not? Make up your mind!"

Next to fume was Elena, "You should at least pay us for having to sit out in that cold weather for no reason! We don't do free jobs!"

Then Narak looked towards Rude, who had stayed silent, much of the time, "And what about you, friend?"

Deep down inside, the bald Turk wanted to lash out at the bizarre-haired man, beating him to a bloody pulp with his fists, but instead, his head shook twice. "…First, don't call me friend…" There was a pause. "…second, Elena is right. We deserve some money for being out there for no reason."

By now, Narak had lost all forms of patience, "It's true then that you Turks only care for money… how saddening." Still, he didn't hesitate to reach into the layers of his outfit, and pulled forth a rather large fat bag of brown leather, throwing it at Reno's feet. "There is two-hundred-fifty-thousand gil. You can split it up equally amongst each other."

Slowly, Reno knelt down to pick the bag up, only to find it was a little heavier than he anticipated. He didn't like the thought of having to divide such a large amount of gil up equally for three people, but it was a matter for some other time. Right now, they all wanted to know what this strange man's intentions were. And much to the surprise of the blonde, and the redhead, Rude had asked the question first:

"Why do you want Cloud and the others dead?"

But the questions didn't stop there. Next was Elena:

"You've asked me to search for any human or thing with J-E-N-O-V-A's cells in it. Why?"

Reno wasn't aware of what he asked Elena, but he still asked his own question:

"What's your purpose? There must be some reason for all this trouble."

All of these questions came in all at once, but they were all related to what his main goal was. And he decided to share it with them. After all, all he had to do was pay them more money, and they would keep silent. That was, he thought, the way of the Turks. Again, he whisked a hand through the sea of turquoise, before stepping closer to the Turks. He didn't want any random passerby to be near, and hear all of this.

"I want Cloud and the others dead, because they stopped the one thing I desired most: the end of the world. They defeated the Shin-Ra General, Sephiroth, and stopped Meteor from falling. Why I wanted the Planet destroyed is a secret I would not even tell you low-class scum." He paused just long enough to see the mixed expressions from them, but continued on. "When all of that was going on, I had been traveling the areas near the Northern Crater, looking for at least one of the clones birthed by Hojo for J-E-N-O-V-A's Reunion. All I needed was one clone, the smallest body part. A head, an arm, even something so small as a finger!" After the last bit, Narak turned and threw his arms into the air, and kept going.

"If I found one of these clones, I could extract J-E-N-O-V-A's cells from it, and store it in a safe place. I also wanted Cloud and the others dead, mainly for Cloud. Once Cloud is murdered, I would take from him what bit of Mako was infused with his blood. After I had both his DNA, and the cells of J-E-N-O-V-A, I would insert them both into my own blood. And that would result in my ultimate goal: to become another Sephiroth!"

The entire time, his arms had remained in the air, and as he finished his last sentence, a maniacal tone came about his voice, and the air around them all seemed to thicken. Once again, there was a silence, while the Turks took in his plan. Had he really revealed all of this to him?

Narak did not stop there. Again did he reach into his pocket, and throw another fat pouch before Reno. "There is an additional twenty-thousand for you to keep silent. That means you tell no one of what I just said…"

Picking up the other bag, and giving it to Elena, Reno only shrugged, and tried to act as if he didn't care. "Eh, okay buddy. Good luck with that or whatever…"

But Narak was smarter than Reno assumed. He could sense the need to run and tell Cloud of what was just revealed to them. "Oh, Reno… did you really think I was going to let any of you go after that? You can't trust a rat, is what I always say."

A sudden snap from Rude, caused Narak's body to twist around. The bald man came toward him at such fast speed, despite his large bulky size. Sudden crackling of energy and a pale light lit up the area in a flash of silver sparks. Rude had no time to react in anyway, as a sudden pain grasped his entire being. Reno could only watch as his partner was blasted with a string of electricity, connected by white orbs every two feet or so.

Just as Rude slammed against the bare rock, Reno had withdrawn his EMR from the blue jacket, and he and Elena tried to rush their opponent.

However, rings of dark purple formed around the other's skull, growing larger as they circled down his body, vanishing into the ground. This continued several times, until another flash of light left the Turks blind. When at last they could see, the rings were now around them. Reno tried to open his mouth to speak, but a sharp screech caused his head to split. Another flash and agony ripped at their chests and limbs. The rings faded, and both bodies thudded against the dirt.

To finish them off, he had hoped, Narak gathered a final blast within his palm. This simply involved a small energy sphere to over out near the fallen Turks, and it would explode, like a bomb. The blast itself sent the three soaring through the air, and off the small cliff. Narak only waited until he heard three thuds, before he vanished in rings of white.


	5. And the Start of Another

**Final Fantasy VII**

**Memories Not Forgotten**

Author's Note: Let me start off by saying thanks for all the reviews. All one of them. (Ha ha, that was a joke, not an offence.)

Anyway, I personally think the story is turning out beautifully. It might not be the greatest on the list, but it's decent.

Chapter 5

**And the Start of Another**

Having dealt with the Turks, our antagonist turned to other matters.

Now he was positioned near Nibelheim, a single slope leading down to it. In short, he was standing upon the slope leading into the Nibel Mountains. He had great plans for this backwater town, which was a shadow of what it normally had been for two people.

One must wonder, however: how does he know that it was these two people that originated here? Could it be that he somehow knew one of the people?

"Since the Turks could not finish the job, it seems I must do it myself."

With a snap of his arm, his fingers curled outward, familiar rings of white energy gathering at his fist. Color came to the rings, slowly turning into a sort of dark blue color, almost matching his hair color. A slight quake alerted any nearby, but a smart person would know it was already too late.

"Let's see how my powers have developed so far…"

With that, the energy all seeped up into his hand, and was fired directly into the air. The very sound itself sounded like a giant cannon going off. The energy sphere would shoot directly across the skies, just over Nibelheim. Any who saw it would probably think it was a falling rock, or some sort. But in truth, it was much, much worse. A second explosion, as the sphere hit in the fields just out in front of the town. It took only a second for the truth of the orb to become clear. A behemoth of a hand jutted out of the ground, in its fingers was clutched a giant cleaver, rusty, yet still deadly.

"Behold… a new creature is born." Hissed the blue-haired menace. "I shall call him… Bloodthirst." He seemed very proud of a name so plain. And even though the creature had not fully risen out of the ground, it was still a terrifying sight. And so it was that Narak vanished in the rings of light, which was his warping spell, to tend to other matters.

All it took was for the people of Nibelheim to realize they would soon be slaughtered, and in an instant, the quiet town was filled with warning bells going off, some people turning to flee into the mountain.

* * *

"Captain! We're approximately ten miles from our destination, sir!" One of the pilots had told Cid, whom responded with, "Keep 'er steady, boys."

Just out past the mountain range, Tifa could see it; Rocket Town. The last place all of them would be together. It was disheartening, but she knew it couldn't be helped, as they had all agreed to it. But… where would they all go? She took this time to gaze around the room at everyone who had become her family.

Barret would most likely return to Kalm immediately, where he had left Marlene with Elmyra.

Red XIII could only return to Cosmo Canyon, to continue looking after his people, and his grandfather.

Since Cait Sith itself was only a toy, the real Cait Sith would no doubt assist the people of Midgar, who had been affected the worst from Meteor.

It was anyone's fair guess that Cid would stay in Rocket Town, and begin working on a new rocket to travel into space with. Or maybe design other things.

Yuffie **might** have returned to Wutai and her father, but since she never favored him, she might try and postpone that particular trip as long as she could.

And Vincent… who knows what he would do. Perhaps wander the world, to settle things with the demons of his past.

That only left herself and Cloud. What would they do? Return to Midgar? And if so, what for? Since there was no more Shin-Ra, there would be no need for AVALANCHE. But then, there was still Sector Seven. Anyone could assume that Rufus had not done a thing with it when he was still alive. And they would probably be right. So, maybe the three of them (the third being Cait Sith) could stay in Midgar and help the people of the slums. Make Midgar a better place for all.

Almost at the exact time of her thinking, Tifa felt a plushed hand tap her upon the shoulder. Startled, she turned to see Cait looking up directly at her, "What is it, Cait?"

"Tifa, I need to ask ya' sumthin' before we land." The cat said, quietly.

Looking around a few times, she thought it suspicious that he would be so quiet. "Of course. What's wrong?"

"Tifa, what are you plannin' to you once everyone splits apart?"

"I… haven't really thought about it." She was such a terrible liar.

"An' what about Cloud?"

"He hasn't said anything yet."

"Well, I was plannin' to help the people in Midgar. They need some help, ya'know?"

So Tifa was right after all. "I was hoping that Cloud would agree to come with me to Midgar. Then maybe the three of us could help…"

At her words, the cat body jumped around atop the mog a few times. "Really? That's great!" It continued to bounce about, before eventually stopping. "I should get to work. When you two come to Midgar, you know my number."

Tifa only nodded.

"Give everyone my regards!" A faint click followed, and he was gone.

Hopefully, Cloud would agree to her and Cait's plans. She didn't want to lose him again. That would be the worst thing that could happen to her.

Elsewhere, Cloud was idly running a damp cloth across the large weapon, cleaning the little bit of crimson ooze that had stained the once clean blade. "Where are we now, Cid?"

Cid had walked over to where the main pilot was steering the ship, and checked a screen to his right, "About two miles from the Nibel Mountains." The dragoon replied.

It was then that Cloud began to dwell on thoughts of his past. What happened in the Nibel Reactor. Almost losing Tifa to Sephiroth's sword, and then escaping in the back of a truck with Zack, who was promptly murdered soon after. It was memories he wish he would never remember again.

Suddenly, something caught Barret's eye, and he motioned with his good arm toward the ground. "'Ey… wha'zat?"

All eyes turned toward the large glass, and every resident in the ship, (except the pilots, and Cait) stepped into the main part so that they could see. What was seen had certainly caught everyone's attention, but not enough to shock them as they were not close enough to see exactly who or what it was.

It appeared to be three bodies, each laid out in different positions near one another. They were lying just near the stream, which connected the mountain range that separated Nibelheim from Rocket Town.

"Think they need help?" Cid suggested.

"They don't seem to be moving… wonder what happened?" Red lowly said.

"They might be in trouble. We should check it out." It was Cloud.

At this, Cid turned to the main pilot, but he didn't need to say a single word. The pilot was already lowering the ship down at a slowed pace, landing just near the stream. A gentle thud, which signaled they had landed, then a short hissing sound followed.

Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Red started out of the bridge, "We'll go see what's going on. The rest of you stay and watch the ship," Cloud commanded, just before vanishing from the bridge.

* * *

A small hatch opened up on the side of the ship, which had been there for quite some time and no one, knew about it. Much to the dismay of Red XIII, it was near impossible for him to climb up and down ladders, so he often needed someone to carry him up and down them. Which he hated, because it made him feel like a child. 

Once the gangplank thudded against the ground, the four of them walked down it, only to be met with soft grass. They headed towards the fallen bodies, and it only took Cloud to be a few steps from them to realize who they were. And suddenly wished he had his sword with him. "The Turks!"

At the name, everyone froze, Barret instinctively readying his gun-arm, the rest standing behind him.

"What are they doing here? Weren't they just at the Great Glacier?" Red pointed this out, while thinking on just how they could travel so far in a short time.

"It must have been that blue-haired man… he must have warped them here." Tifa answered. She didn't trust the Turks whether they were standing or not. It might have been a trap.

"Their injuries look pretty bad…" Barret took notice of this. Each of the three were severely burned in a few spots on their face and neck, and the blue Turk outfits were tattered here and there.

"Who could have done this… to the Turks?" Again, Tifa spoke.

There was a silence, and then:

"It might have been that man." Cloud answered.

"But why would he attack them, if they were working together?" Red had asked, while inching towards the fallen body of Reno.

The four of them took this question in, before Cloud again answered, "Maybe he paid them to kill us… and they betrayed them in some way."

Tifa nodded, as that seemed to be the only reasonable answer. "There's only one way to find out…"

Cloud turned and looked at her, and they both nodded to one another. They seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. But Barret's face suddenly looked sour.

"You're not seriously thinkin' of taken 'em with us, are you?"

Now Cloud turned and faced the former AVALANCHE leader, "Why not? They can't do much harm if they're this injured… besides, they could die."

Red was next to make a face. "And there is a problem with that?"

Cloud was about to speak, but Tifa filled in the blanks for their other two friends. "The Turks may be low-life scumbags who do dirty work for money, but maybe that's the only reason they do the bad things they do… for money. Maybe these three can tell us exactly what kind of person we're dealing with. And who knows, maybe they'll even help us, if it really was that strange man that attacked them."

But Barret wouldn't be swayed that easily, and shook his head, "Tifa… what have ya' hit yer' head?"

"We can take them with us, and let them rest in Rocket Town. We'll all stay there until they awaken and tell us what they know. We'll go from there." Cloud instructed to them all. "Now let's move."

Much to his dismay, Barret had hauled the large bulking Rude across his shoulder. Cloud managed to sling rude over his own shoulders, and Tifa was helping Red to carry Elena on his back.

"Y'now Cid's not gonna be too happy wit' this…" Barret said over his other shoulder. Cid hated the Turks as much as they all did, and probably even worse as they tried to destroy his ship. But he would simply have to deal with it.

Even as they loaded the Turks up in the Highwind, deciding to let them rest in the area where they would normally stow Chocobos, everyone was silent the rest of the trip. Vincent agreed to stay in the chocobo hold to watch the Turks, in case any of them woke up before they reached their destination. Tifa and Yuffie silently rejoiced that they would all stay together in Rocket Town a few days more. At least until the Turks awakened.

Yet none of them knew that they would soon be thrown into a battle, which would scar two members of their group forever.

* * *

Once again, all forms of reviews are accepted. Flames, suggestions, comments, questions, etc. 


	6. The Call of Battle

**Final Fantasy VII**

**Memories Not Forgotten**

Author's Note: First things, big shout out to Cathy7. I'll try and update as often as I can.

On a side note, my own computer is not working properly. So I am forced to work on my mother's, until we can find out what is wrong with mine. Regardless, this won't stop me from updating.

I can't really think of anything else to put, except enjoy the following chapter.

Chapter 6

**The Call of Battle**

At first, all he could see was white. Nothing more, nothing less.

There was nothing. Nothing in the entire world but white.

"Ugh…"

He made the softest of sounds, and attempted to move, but pain ripped through his entire being.

_"Hey, he moved!"_

Suddenly, he heard a voice. Distant, while somehow being near. Faint, and at the same time loud.

_"Is he conscious?"_

There was another voice, but still there was nothing but white. It was annoying.

_"Reno?"_

At the name, his vision began to clear, slowly, yet surely. And he could barely make out at least three figures looming around his bed. He never liked to be watched, and silently wished he could move. But each time he had tried to do so, the pain only returned. The first figure Reno could make out was the all-too familiar spiked yellow hair, which was Cloud.

"Where am I…?" He had asked weakly, while trying to look around.

He was indeed in an unfamiliar place. It appeared to be a large room, as he had noticed there were two other beds, one on each side of the one he was in. And in each of them were Rude, and Elena. Reno couldn't tell what either of their condition was, as his own vision was still blurred.

"You're in the Rocket Town inn. You've been out for at least two days, now." The voice which answered was a soft female's voice. Reno turned to see who it was, and was met with Tifa's soft gaze. Apparently even she could pity one of the people who destroyed so many people.

"Reno, we need some information from you." This was Cloud's voice, no mistaking.

But Reno slowly shook his head, and suddenly wished he had some alcohol. "Tough shit… I don't feel like saying anything right now."

Cloud, on the one hand, was not looking for that answer. And, if Reno had been in even the slightest better condition, Cloud would have made it much worse. But even he could not injure an already hurt person. So instead he kept silent.

Tifa had knelt beside the bed, so that Reno could get a better look at her face, "Please, Reno. We need to know several things, from both you, and the others."

_'The others… she must mean Rude and Elena.'_ He thought silently.

"What about Elena and Rude? How are they?" Reno had managed to choke out, between coughs.

Another unfamiliar voice answered. It was more gruff than Cloud's, though not so deeply. "We gave 'em each some potions. They'll be conscious soon enough." It sounded like the air pilot, to Reno.

_'Yes… the old man with the spear…'_ Again Reno thought to himself.

"Why should I even consider helping any of you?" Reno could slowly feel his strength returning. Apparently another potion had been administered to his body when he wasn't looking.

Cloud eventually chimed in, "We need to know who that man is that was with you all. The one with blue hair, who said he wanted us dead."

Then, Reno had suddenly remembered what had happened. Narak had thrown them off of the cliff, after seriously wounding them all, leaving them for dead on the outcroppings. He remembered the man's plan to combine J-E-N-O-V-A's cells with Cloud's DNA, and transfuse into Sephiroth. But what would he do afterward? What purpose would that psycho gain? Still, Reno did not see what he would gain by helping Cloud. That is, until he remembered everything he and the Turks went through, during the time of Sephiroth, and Meteor. Always being pushed around, told to do this and that. And though Shin-Ra was no more, there was still the chance of SOMEONE from the company being alive.

Which is exactly why he didn't want to tell them anything. But on the other hand, he didn't want to be killed by some psychopath, either.

"I'll… think about it." Was all Reno said, and was about to let himself drift into an uneasy sleep, when he heard a familiar voice off to his right.

"Where the hell… am I…?" It was Elena.

Tifa had risen to her feat, and headed over to Elena's bed, where the blonde was trying to sit up and get out of bed. Judging by the look on her face, her injures weren't as bad as Reno's, as she could move about just fine.

"It's you guys…!" Elena exclaimed in a half-exhausted manor, and tried to take a stance. Clearly, she was ready to fight until she died, which might have been the worst thing to do. However, Tifa merely pushed her shoulder, forcing the Turk back down onto the bed, and replied with,

"Calm down, or your injuries will get worse."

Pain came back to Elena, and she immediately began to calm down, while looking over at Reno, who didn't seem very happy either, "What happened?"

Next to speak was Cid, "We found the three of ya' unconscious nearby. We brought you guys here to rest, because we needed some information."

"Information that you will tell us, once all three of you are in good enough condition to." This came from Cloud, who seemed to be forcing the conversation.

Naturally, this enraged Elena, and would have lashed out at the other blonde, had her torso not suddenly cringed with pain, a pain which made her instead scowl. "Like hell we're going to help any of you…"

Cid was not at all impressed by the way they all seemed to reply with the same replies, with different words, and exited the room. And eventually, Cloud and Tifa exchanged looks, and also left the room, making sure to close the door behind them.

* * *

"What do you think, Cloud?" 

"I think all we need is to give them some time."

"Time? What for?"

"If that man did this to the Turks, it will sink into their heads sooner or later, and they'll want revenge on him. Then they will help us with whatever we need."

"But don't you think they would go after him on their own?"

"Hm… not if we keep them here."

At his last statement, a sly look came into those swirling green-blue eyes that belonged to Cloud, and Tifa couldn't help but smirk in return.

"What were you planning, Cloud?"

"Put Red XIII out here in front of the door, and either Vincent or Barret by the window to make sure they don't escape. With their weakened condition, they won't make it too far anyway."

"That's as good a plan as any, I guess." So the two trotted off from the inn, to round up Red and Vincent or Barret, whoever they got to first.

* * *

"Reno, what are we going to do?"

"Don't be stupid, Elena. There's nothing we can do."

As always, the situation was grim, and Elena was trying to be smart. Reno would kill for some type of alcohol, but all he was Elena's constant mouth.

"They're planning on keeping us holed in here until we crack. You aren't thinking of helping them, are you?"

Reno turned and looked over at her, sitting upon the bed, "Why should we? So they can go after Narak and kill him instead?"

"But you remember what he said, don't you? He's going to become another Sephiroth!"

"So what? We'll just track him down and kill him before he succeeds."

"Reno, you're an idiot. Look what he did to us! Do you think we stand a chance?"

He had to stop and think about that one for a minute. True that Narak's powers were far greater than he assumed, but the Turks went through far worse injuries.

"We just weren't prepared, Elena. Next time, we'll succeed."

A ray of light burst into Elena's mind, and she began to look hopeful, "But we should still tell Cloud about it."

"Why?"

"If Narak becomes another Sephiroth, then he'll likely try and destroy the world again."

"So what? What's that got to do with Cloud? Or us, for that matter?"

"… can't you two not fight for one full day?"

Both eyes looked to the other far end of the room, to see Rude staring at them with an unhappy look from behind those dark shades. He looked as though he was woken from a good dream.

"Rude, how are you?" This came from Reno, who eased his broken body up from the bed to sit straight up.

"Leg might be sprained, can't feel it." He replied in a low voice, as always. "I'll survive. The potions seem to be taking effect."

Elena again tried to stand up, but found her legs were also sore, and was forced to sit once again. "So what next?"

There was a silence. Then,

"It seems the only way we're getting out of here is to tell Cloud about Narak." It was Reno.

"So you're planning on helping them?" Elena again started to look hopeful.

"No, you idiot, I didn't say that. We'll tell Cloud about Narak's plan, then be on our way. Simple as that."

"…And what do you plan on doing after we depart?" Rude's voice came from behind the redhead.

"We'll go after Narak, of course. Who knows what he'll do if he succeeds in his task.

And so it was decided amongst the three; they would tell Cloud everything they knew about Narak, and then leave them behind, to pursue the fiend by themselves.

* * *

Cloud had taken it upon himself to settle just outside the entrance to Rocket Town. The sun was just over the very top of the sky, meaning that is was sometime after noon. Roughly two hours, maybe. Cloud was never the one to keep track of time. Not after 'she' died.

After Aerith fell at the Forgotten Capital, time, to Cloud, was nothing. Every day was a fleeting mass of emptiness, and a giant scar was left on his heart. A scar that would never heal. The flower merchant had left such a mark on all of their lives, her smile cheering them all up when times got bad. But even her bright smile did not save her from the Masamune. Cloud began to silently think what would have happened, if she had been spared… what would it have been like? Would Sephiroth had died sooner? Would Meteor have ever been summoned in the first place? And most disturbing, where would the two of them be to this day?

Such thoughts only brought more pain to his mind, and he wished he never even thought about it in the first place.

The only person he really had left was Tifa, the girl had had known since they were kids. True that the two never played together as kids, or even spoken much except for that fateful night at the well. But still, they grew up together. Both of them knew the other like the back of their hand. It seemed that the two of them would be perfect for one another, even if much of Cloud's own memory was nothing but an illusion. But due to Cloud's pride, he may never admit the fact that the two should be together. He couldn't, not until he got over Aerith. Before he could start a new life, he must first dispose of his old one.

Looking beyond the sparkling rocks that were lit up by the sun, Cloud looked to the southeast, where something had caught his eye. It was… smoke? What could it be? Perhaps some workers from Nibelheim burning down some brush, or some sort.

His question was soon answered, when every member of the party came running from the entrance of Rocket Town. They were all headed toward the Highwind, so Cloud dashed out to meet them halfway. "What's wrong, everyone?"

They all stopped, and the first to answer was Tifa. "We just received a distress call from Nibelheim. They're in trouble!"

Next was Vincent, "Apparently, some giant monster is destroying the town."

Finally, Cid. "We're going to destroy it, before it reaches the Mountains, where the people are hiding. Let's go!"

"But what about the Turks?" Cloud had to know.

As they all started to run, Barret had answered him, "The villagers agreed to look out for 'em."

It didn't take long for the party to load up into the ship. Cid had summoned the pilots to their places, as the crew tended to stay in the ship most of the time. The giant hatch closed, and a hissing noise indicated that it was sealed, and the ship was clear for take off. Next was a violent, yet brief vibrating, which meant the ship was starting up, and being lifted into the air. Instead of each person going to where they normally dwelled on the ship, everyone gathered on the main point, near the large glass. Cloud pointed out to where the smoke columns were twisting into the air,

"Let's hurry. The people won't last much longer."

* * *

Shabam. Next chapter will be an actual fight chapter. And depending on how I write it, will depend on whether I should change the rating, but we'll see. 


	7. The Hammer Falls

**Final Fantasy VII**

**Memories Not Forgotten**

Author's Note: I just wanted to let everyone know a quick little something. From this point on, there will be vague references to Advent Children. Nothing too major. Prime examples are the following:

In one of the official trailers during the fight with Bahamut SIN, Vincent is somehow 'flying' with flames beneath his feet. Since I'm not 100 sure what this is about, I'll make up my own reason.

How Cloud came to having his motorcycle.

As the story progresses, (perhaps much later) each character will be featured in their Advent Children attire, and why they change.

And a few other things. Note that (if I can help it) nothing will happen in my story that happens in the movie. An example is the person in the wheelchair in white being revealed. For those of you who know who it is, okay. And for those who don't shouldn't worry about it just now, since he won't even be mentioned until later.

And as mentioned last chapter, depending how this chapter turns out, depends on whether or not the rating will change.

Finally, some characters may use some of their Limit Breaks when they fight. See if you can catch who uses what Limit Break, and when.

Chapter 7

**The Hammer Falls**

"Captain! Two minutes to target!"

"I think this is close enough. Land just over there!"

The ride from Rocket Town to Nibelheim wasn't a long one, but Cid had been barking orders like mad since they left.

"Cid," Cloud looked away from the glass for the first time since they took off, "is 'it' ready?"

Cid also stopped in his actions, long enough to give the blonde a nod, "Yeah, it's all set down in the cargo bay."

Confused expressions set across the rest of the party, though none of them had said a word. The landscape was whiffing by at such a high-speed, that a sudden jerk caused all who were standing up to fall onto their faces. Apparently the pilot activated the break too soon. The entire craft jutted several times, before it stopped some twenty feet from the ground. Everyone took this moment to quickly recover.

"All right, everyone. Be careful." Cloud declared to the group, who soon disbanded from the cockpit.

As they were starting up the ladder that lead to the bridge, Cloud turned off and started down a different path, to which Tifa caught his arm before they were separated, "Cloud, where are you going?"

He turned and replied with, "Cid made me something special a while ago. Now seems a good enough time to use it."

Tifa looked confused, "What is it?"

"You'll see. Just don't die on me."

That was the last thing he said before he vanished from sight, promptly snatching his weapon from a nearby rack as he exited.

Filled with doubt and worry, Tifa swallowed her fears, and followed the rest from the ship.

* * *

They all stood on the small bridge of the ship, which now overlooked the open plains which lead to Nibelheim. The town itself was but a smoking ruin from where everyone could see, and amidst the ruins was a behemoth of a creature. It was blindly smashing aside buildings in search of human prey. 

"What… in the world is that?" Tifa had asked, looking almost scared.

No one answered at first, since no one had an answer for her. It seems like nothing else ever seen before.

"…It's a Bloodthirst." That voice belonged to Vincent, who was soon met with multiple eyes.

"The hell is that?" This was Cid.

Vincent seemed reluctant to speak, but he explained nonetheless. "A Bloodthirst is a type of ogre. As its name suggests, it feeds off of blood. When angered, it goes into a blind rage, and it becomes next-to-invincible. If we are to defeat it, we must use extreme caution."

Barret seemed a little skeptical, "It doesn't look so tough. We've beat worse things'n than!"

"It's skin is extremely thick," Vincent continued, "hurting it won't be easy."

"So how're we goin' to fight it?" Cait asked this with a monotone in his voice.

Vincent did not reply at first, only looked down toward the ground, as if thinking. Then, "It only has two weaknesses: its head, and its heart. Those should be our key targets." Again he stopped, and shook his head, "But even then it will be dangerous for some of you. You should stay back and use the power of your materia, and leave the fighting to the rest of us."

At this, Tifa almost felt insulted, because she knew he meant herself and Cait. Maybe her fists and his toy body wouldn't do much damage, but she still loved to fight side-by-side with the others. Maybe it was for the best, however.

"Awright then! Let's go!" Barret bellowed out, and was the first to start down the ladder.

"This doesn't look good…" Yuffie hesitated at first, but also began down.

"Hopefully, its not too late for the people…" Red said this just as he jumped down, only to be caught by Barret.

"This'll be a piece of cake!" After grabbing up his weapon, Cid Slung it over his shoulder, and slid down the ladder.

"… Be careful, you two." Was all Vincent said. Yet he did not depart from the airship just yet. He seemed to be planning something.

Ignoring him, Tifa turned to Cait, and looks hesitant to have to carry the toy body all the way down the ladder.

However, Cait relieved her of that worry, "Dun' worry, Tifa! Another body is already nearby."

Nodding, she stood up over the ladder, giving Vincent one last stare, before starting down as well. "Where are you, Cloud…?"

* * *

It was a rather exhilarating rush, everyone running together to face some giant monster head on. Though Barret could not run as fast for his larger size, he still kept up very well. Out ahead of them, the monster had already seen their approach, and was hulking its way toward them. The beast was large, roughly fifteen feet high. It's skin was leathery, saggy in some placed. The face was disfigured, jaw splitting in two at the chin, rows of rotten fangs here and there. Giant eyes with burned white, looked on hungrily. In one hand, was a giant rustic cleaver, and in the other, what appeared to be a large ship anchor, though it was more of a hook than anything else. 

Tifa stopped in her charge, as a second Cait bounced up next to her. She looked on as the rest of them charged forward, certainly toward their doom.

But a ring of hope stretched over her, as a familiar figure shot across the sky overhead.

A red-cloaked figure was being carried through the air, lines of flames being left in a trail. Supporting materia was glowering from the three-barreled handgun, which was soon ejected from within the cloak. The crystals are what seemed to be giving him the ability to fly.

"Vincent!" Tifa called into the air. The figure looked over its shoulder, and showed her that it was who she thought it was.

"All right, Cait. Let's show this beast who's boss!" Tifa again declared, as she slammed one fist into her other open palm.

What she got as a reply, was the mog bouncing about, swinging its arms madly about in punching motions. "All right!"

From the sky, Vincent aimed the end of his weapon toward the oncoming enemy. Index finger yanked back the trigger several times, causing loud explosions to be heard from all around. From the end of the weapon, a shower of sparks and shrapnel, each bullet hitting its mark somewhere on the beasts head, though it seemed barely affected.

Yuffie had dashed off to the far side of the behemoth, twirling the four-point shuriken around in her fist. The materia in it began to give off a radiation, causing her weapon to begin sparkling here and there. It was then that Yuffie propelled her figure into the air, near the beast's chest. Bringing the weapon back as far as she could, she brought the weapon back down across its chest, hard as she could, leaving a giant slash mark.

Red XIII was charging across the charred ground at a much higher speed, leaving dust in his wake. The beast saw his movement, and attempted to slam the butt-end of its cleaver on top of him, yet Red hurtled himself into the air at the last moment, his fangs catching the creature's arm. He hung on for dear life, while trying to rip off the skin to expose a weak spot.

However, the Bloodthirst dropped its giant hook, and took Red within its giant hand, and simply slammed him into the ground. It was here that Red was motionless, but multi-colored sparkles invoked his body. The source of the magic came from a materia in Tifa's glove. Red felt all pain in his body escape, and rose back to his feet.

"Thank you, Tifa." Before leaping back into action.

Barret moved off to the opposite side of Yuffie, and was unleashing showers of shrapnel upon the enemy. The gatling gun spun about at a high-rate, which sent bullets every which way. It stopped, however, as a ball of flames formed amidst the turrets. Clutching his gun-arm with his free hand, Barret launched the flaming sphere at the beast's head, and hit head-on.

Cait was swinging his blue megaphone about madly, only to throw it out towards the beast. Explosions of flames erupted all around the monster, before a much larger dome of purgatory formed around it. Even as its skin was now bloodied here and there, and even charred, it still showed no signs of fatigue.

Cid was nowhere to be seen. All that was changed, however, because a yell caught everyone's attention. Cid was seen leaping from the roof of a burning building. With the spear outstretched, Cid forced the weapon into the gut of the Bloodthirst when he came within reach. Shortly after the spear hit, another explosion shot all around the area where the beast was.

Vincent was still circling the air, unleashing round after round from that large gun of his. Every which way the bullets could be seen hitting their marks, because blood was bursting out from everywhere.

"This thing is stronger than it looks!" Yuffie exclaimed from off to the side. She had since removed her weapon from the beast, and each point was dripping in dark blue ooze.

Red was just nearby, his entire figure letting off a radiant red glow. With the top of his hairpin aimed at the monster, a sea of star-shaped energy blasted were fired across the plains, some hitting the Bloodthirst's face, others hitting his limbs and legs, leaving minor cuts. "We can't give up yet."

While the fighting continued, a familiar noise caught Tifa's attention. She turned away from the vicious fighting, to see a large dust cloud on the horizon. It sounded like a motorcycle. "It couldn't be…" Tifa had almost forgotten about 'him'.

The motor echoed loud on the plains, and it wasn't until it was barely five feet from where Tifa was standing for her to see who it was. The wind cut through the rider's light-gold spikes that was his hair. Eyes were concealed by a pair of dark riders goggles. It looked larger than most other motorbikes. Two wheels were linked together by steel supporting rods, and two in the back.

"Cloud!"

From the side of the bike, a large slot opened up, revealing a sort of rack, and inside rested the Buster Sword. Cloud ejected the weapon from its slot, and the rack closed once again. The sword gleamed in the sunlight as he approached, and Tifa and Cait quickly stepped aside just as the bike whizzed past.

At the last second, Cloud dug his boot into the passing dirt, and yanked the handlebars off to one side. This caused the motorbike to tilt to its left, but continued to skid to the right, toward the Bloodthirst. Cloud brought the sharp end of Buster around in a hard swing, aimed at the base of the creature's foot. However, due to its thick skin, the blade only cut halfway, but it was enough to render the giant beast motionless.

As Cloud sped off, Vincent removed the flames from around his feet, falling directly toward where the Bloodthirst had fallen. His left claw arm outstretched, the fingers ejecting razorblades from the knuckle. The distance closed between them at a high-rate. A loud roaring cry from the monster as the razors found their way into its chest cavity. Blood shot up everywhere, droplets hitting Vincent in the face here and there, yet he did not pay much attention.

Another figure was once again coming from the sky, and it was Cid once again. His spear was again pointed toward the ground, and he was shouting into the air. Another roar, as Cid's spear-point found its way into its neck. Cid removed his spear, flipped backward, and removed a red stick from his jacket. Using the lit end of his cigarette, he lit the dynamite stick, and threw it so it landed just near the monster's chest.

Everyone backed up to a safe distance just as the stick exploded, flames invoking the fallen corpse. The rumbling settled, and the dust slowly cleared. The beast's body had been severed through the middle, due to the dynamite. The head and arms were still attached to the main body, but it appeared to be dead.

"Is it over?" Tifa remarked at how large the beast was when she stood just inches from the hand which still held the cleaver.

Vincent landed just nearby, placing the weapon back into his cloak, "Seems to be. We should head back to Rocket Town."

"What about the people of Nibelheim?" Yuffie pointed out.

Red emerged from the side of the fallen monster. "If any are still alive, they will repair the town. They did it before, right?"

But Tifa still tried to protest, "And why can't we help them!"

A large hand was placed on Tifa's shoulder, she turned to see Barret inches from her own figure. "Let it go, Tifa. There's really nuthin' we can do for 'em."

"Yeah," Cid added, "We saved them from this… thing. That's all we can do."

At this, Cloud parked his bike just nearby, though did not kill the engine, or even get off of it. He was still holding his bloodied Buster. "We still need to get information from the Turks. After that, we'll decide what to do."

Cait bounced up, "I'll get some folks from Midgar to come help 'em here."

Tifa still wanted to help the people herself, since she did used to live here. Even if most of her memories from here were not real, she still was born here. Yet in a deep chamber of her heart, she was glad it was gone. It reminded her too much of what happened, five years earlier."

"All right… let's head back to Rocket Town." She declared.

After finally all agreeing, the party slowly started away from the ruined state that was now Nibelheim. Cloud started his bike, and followed the others, just slow enough so that he could not leave them behind.

Tifa, however, did not leave just yet. She stood near the giant corpse, ignoring the putrid smell. She looked over what little was left of a place that was once her home. With two hands clasped against her middle, she did her best to choke back tears.

_'What's wrong with me…?'_

Despite the fact that everyone was all right, she still hurt. How could they deny her in helping rebuild her and Cloud's home? Maybe they didn't live there anymore, and maybe they wouldn't come back even if they WANTED to, now that it was in ruins. But she still wanted to help in any way she could. The mountains that surrounded the area saw everything she saw, that day. Sephiroth murdering everyone, setting the town ablaze, killing so many people, including her father. They knew how she felt…

Coming to grips with herself, Tifa turned and started after everyone else, attempting to leave her sorrows with the dead monster. Though she did not notice the shadow which grew over her shoulder.

The beast was not dead. In fact, it was much alive. The arm which held the cleaver rose, slowly, until it was just over her retreating figure. Tifa eventually took notice of the giant shadow, and looked over her shoulder just in time to see the massive weapon loom over her, before it was swiftly brought down in a vertical slash.

"CLOUD!"

Tifa couldn't move, all she did was turn and snapped her hands around her head, cowering against the ground like a whipped dog. But before she allowed death to take her, the extremely loud sound of metal hitting metal caused Tifa to jerk her gaze upward. There was Cloud, Buster slammed against the giant cleaver. Cloud's weapon looked cracked near the middle, due to the force of the other weapon.

Cloud grasped the hilt with both hands, and pushed the weapon upward in a crescent motion, this pushed the Bloodthirst's weapon off, at which Cloud swung Buster again, harder than last time. The clash which followed shattered both the cleaver, as well the Buster sword. Cloud's sword was shattered at the middle, with only one pointed edge on the far left end.

The metal pieces scattered here and there, and Tifa didn't think the Buster could be broken. She thought that Cloud must be that strong…

Sick with adrenaline and anger, Cloud spun the shattered weapon in his hand, over his head. Instantly, blue and white swirls danced around the blade. Cloud leapt into the air, pressing the weapon into monster's abdomen, and continued to soar upwards, The Buster easily cleaved the beast in two, despite being broken. The head split at a curved place, and the two halves fell to different sides with opposing, earth-quaking thuds.

By now, the rest of the party had come back to see what was going on. They arrived just in time to see Cloud land just near Tifa, and dropping the broken weapon at his side.

Tifa shakily stood up, after being helped up by Cloud, his hands upon her shoulders.

"Tifa… are you okay?" His words were so soft.

"Cloud… you… I…" She couldn't speak, the emotion was too much for her to handle.

So it was that, despite the on-lookers of the other party, Tifa placed her lips across the other's, who-- despite his shock-- returned the emotion. The kiss did not last long, but it was the best feeling in the world to Tifa. The rest of the group merely looked on in silence.

And despite the heavy emotion, Tifa pulled away, tucking her face between the crook of Cloud's neck, who linked his arms around her.

Maybe it was a fated love… or maybe it was the emotion of the moment. After all, they all almost lost a respected and loved member of their group.

* * *

Action, bit of drama, and bit of romance, all in one chapter. I love it. Pleasepleaseplease review. I really worked on this chapter. 


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